Luggage manufacture



Jam 6, 1942.

Filed Oct. 3, 1938 I f 721l/ENT R.

ATTORNEY case sections.

Patented Jan. 6, 1942 mann Trunk Company, Racine,

ration of Wisconsin Wis., a compo,

Application October 3, 1938, S erial no. 232,981

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the art of luggage manufacture and more particularly to an improved wardrobe fixture constructionand method of assembling the same.

Heretofore,

stays in the cover, it has been common practice to drill a separate hole for each point of connection through side wall portions of the cover, and each hole had to be accurately located in a precise manner to insure proper operation of the fixtures with respects to' one another and to insure proper positioning of the fixtures in the suit- In the type of garment fixture shown and described in Ritter Patent No; 1,975,292, sockets for receiving the ends of the removable garment hanger unit, which require two rivets extending through each side wall; there is a gara ment folding frame having each end pivotally connected by a rivet; and there are cover stays similarly connected. As a result, each side wall of' the cover must have four rivets extending therethrough, the heads of, which are all exposed on the exterior of the suitcase. In addition, each one of these rivet points must be independently located in an accurate manner, which, adds a substantial amunt of time to the assembly operation.. The present invention, is adapted for use in. expediting the assembly of various types of in assembling garment folding 2 frames, hanger supporting brackets, and cover there are supporting members or wardrobe fittings but is particularly adapted for use in connection with the type of construction shown in said prior patent.

It is therefore a general object of the invention to provide an improved construction for use in wardrobe luggage which decreases the number of rivets extending through the side walls of the cover.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction, as above described, wherein the luggage.

and the subsequent assembly of the plates in the Other objects of the invention are to provide a luggage fitting construction which is simple and inexpensive, which'is' easy to install, and which improves the appearance of the luggage by minimizing the number of exposed unsightly rivet heads;

With the above and other objects in view, the

invention consists-of the improvements in the art of luggage manufacture and all its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims and all equivalents thereof a Inthe accompanying drawing, illustrating one complete embodiment of the preferred form of the invention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views: a

Fig. 1 isa front" view of a wardrobe suitcase with the cover raised, the main body being shown in cross-section.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale ofone of the metal plates or brackets. I

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing fitting parts assembled thereon.

'Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through an open suitcase showing one of the brackets and associated fittings installed; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fig; 4, showing one end of the garment hanger member orunit.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 6 designates the main body portion of a suitcase having a cover 'I hingedly connected thereto; 'The wardrobe fittings illustrated are the same as the fittings shown and described in Ritter Patent No. 1,975,292 except for themethod of connection to the suitcase, which forms the subject matter of the present invention. These wardrobe fittings comprise generally a garment hanger member or carrier 8 for removably holding a plurality of individual garment hanger bars 9, said member having projecting lugs ID at each end which are removably received in sockets or hanger supporting members I1. A substantially U-shaped garment folding frame H is also utilized, which frame comprises a transverse bar I2 and spaced side arms l3. Cover stays M are also utilized, as is standard practice, for the purpose of maintaining the cover in open position at a suitable angle to the main section.

Heretofore, it has been customary to secure each socket piece I! directly to a side wall [5 of the cover by utilizing-two rivets extending through the socket piece and having exposed heads on the exterior of the suitcase. Similar rivets have been employed for connecting the inner ends of the side arms [3 of the garment folding frame to the wall l5, and additional rivets have been employed to pivotally connect ends of the cover stays M to the cover. Thus in former constructions there were four rivets extending through the side walls l5 of the cover to form unsightly exposed rivet heads on the exterior of the suitcase.

With the present invention brackets l6, preferably L-shaped, are preformed with precisely located apertures l8, I9, 20, 2|, and 22 therein. These brackets may be simple metal stampings and, of course, there must be right and left hand brackets for the twosides of the case. In order to assemble the luggage fittings in the case, the inner ends of the side arms l3 of the garment frame II are pivotally connected to a pair of the brackets through the use of the aperture l9. A socket piece I1 is then secured to each bracket by means of two rivets extending through the openings 20 and 2|.

The brackets and assembled fittings are then inserted in the suitcase and due to the fact that the brackets are angular in shape and fit in corners of the cover, they necessarily position themselves in the longitudinal direction of the cover side walls. It is only necessary, therefore, in installing the brackets to make sure that the distance a (Fig. 4) is proper. Each bracket may then be secured in position by a rivet 23 extending through the aperture 22 in the end wall of the cover and by a rivet 24 extending through the side wall IS. The last mentioned rivet is also employed to pivotally connect the upper end of the cover stay 14. Thus only two rivets extend through side walls of the cover, on each side thereof instead of the four which would otherwise be required. Furthermore, only one measurement is necessary in the installation Whereas, with former methods of procedure, an accurate measurement in two directions had to be made for each one of the four connecting points heretofore required.

The construction and method are such that assembly is greatly facilitated and accuracy in assembly is assured.

Although the construction and method are particularly adapted for use in connection with the type of suitcase fittings illustrated, it is applicable to other similar fittings wherein the same problems of installation are involved.

Although only one form of the invention has been shown and described, it is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and all of such changes are contemplated as may come within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a suitcase comprising a main section and a cover section hinged thereto, said cover having side walls and a back wall, collapsible metal cover stays having ends pivotally connected to the main section and having opposite ends extending adjacent the side walls of the cover, an elongated bracket positioned against each side wall of the cover to extend longitudinally of said wall, the outer end of each bracket having a cover stay pivot opening therein, a U-shaped garment supporting frame having its ends pivotally connected to said brackets below the cover stay pivot openings, a hanger supporting socket piece secured to each bracket with its bearing portion in substantial axial alinement with and offset inwardly of the suitcase from said pivotal connection for the garment frame, each bracket having a lower angularly bent apertured flange positioned against the back wall of the cover to positively locate the cover stay pivot opening of the bracket, the socket piece, and the pivotal connection for the garment frame a predetermined distance from the back wall of the cover along the adjacent side wall, means extending through the flange aperture of each bracket for securing the flange to the back wall of the cover, and means extending through the cover stays and through the cover stay pivot openings in the brackets for pivotally connecting the cover stays to the side walls of the cover and for also connecting the brackets to said side walls.

2. In combination, a suitcase comprising a main section and a cover section hinged thereto, said cover having side walls and a back wall, collapsible metal cover stays having ends pivotally connected to the main section and having opposite ends extending adjacent the side walls of the cover, an elongated bracket positioned against each side wall of the cover to extend longitudinally of said wall, the outer end of each bracket being curved laterally in the plane of the bracket and having a cover stay pivot opening therein, a U-shaped garment supporting frame having its ends pivotally connected to said brackets below the cover stay pivot openings, said pivotal connections for the garment supporting frame being offset inwardly away from the free edge of the cover side walls with respect to the cover stay pivot openings, a hanger supporting socket piece secured to each bracket with its bearing portion in substantial axial alinement with and offset inwardly of the suitcase from saidpivotal connection for the garment frame, each bracket having a lower angularly bent apertured flange positioned against the back wall of the cover to positively locate the cover stay pivot opening of the bracket, the socket piece, and the pivotal connection for the garment frame a predetermined distance from the back wall of the cover along the adjacent side wall, means extending through the flange aperture of each bracket for securing the flange to the back wall of the cover, and means extending through the cover stays and through the cover stay pivot openings in the brackets for pivotally connecting the cover stays to the side walls of the cover and for also connecting the brackets to said side walls.

JOSEPH KIEFER. 

